Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Klingman & Associates LLC

Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 492 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $140.70 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $84.43 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.40. The stock has a market cap of $226.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MS. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.